Sweet Lillies, Five Alarm Funk & more ChickenJam(s)
ChickenJam West will present The Sweet Lillies on Friday, July 20th at 9pm. Tickets to this 21+ show are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Doors at 8pm. Note: paid customers of The Sweet Lillies show will be entered to win a pair of tickets to the SOLD OUT Trampled by Turtles concert at Bridger Brewing on July 22nd.
The Sweet Lillies’ high-energy, melodic tunes have quickly captured the hearts of fans in Colorado and beyond. The band, formed in late 2013, credits its appeal to the original and compelling songwriting of three women who share an unwavering commitment to life on the road. The magnetic combination of Julie Gussaroff (upright bass), Becca Bisque (viola), and Melly Frances (percussion, lead vocals) – together with powerful three-part female harmony and a cast of exciting instrumentalists – gives this band a rare and alluring sound. Based out of Colorado’s Front Range, The Sweet Lillies are continually expanding their audience and reach with a contagious love of music and a get-up-and-dance attitude that spreads lots of love and smiles. Their brand new album, A Lighter Hue, is available now.
Five Alarm Funk follow on Thursday, July 26th at 9pm. Tickets to this 21+ show are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Doors at 8pm.
Hot, sweaty dance floors with feet stomping and every body moving. Grooves for days. Monster horns, crushing percussion and shredding psych-rock guitars. These are among the elements that make up the Five Alarm Funk experience. But don’t be fooled by the name: there’s more to the band than, well, funk. Though rooted in the style that gives the outfit its name, the band thrives on being able to transcend that genre by seamlessly mixing in elements of Gypsy rock, Latin music, ska, and even prog-metal.
Vancouver-based Five Alarm Funk is eight men strong and over a decade deep into a career that has seen the release of six acclaimed albums, including their latest, Sweat. The album gets right to the roots of what Five Alarm Funk is all about: epic, intense arrangements, heavy groove and a ton of fun.
After appearing at last year’s Red Ants Pants Music Festival, Hot Club of Cowtown are back in Southwest Montana with a Filling Station show on Friday, August 3rd at 10pm. Tickets to this 21+ show are $17 in advance and $20 at the door. Doors at 9pm.
Since 1998, the Western swing-gypsy jazz trio has traveled the world, bringing their own brand of magical musical chemistry to audiences far and wide. Along with Elana James, guitarist Whit Smith and bassist Jake Erwin are equal partners in this original marriage of gypsy-jazz-inspired by the music of Django Reinhardt – which accounts for the “Hot Club” portion of their name – with the hoedowns, traditional tunes, and Western swing-inspired music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, represented in the “Cowtown” of their name. They have created a legacy of the preservation of musical traditions that have often been overlooked by the mainstream and alternative music worlds. Even Americana and roots enthusiasts have only scratched surface of the multitude of musicians, past and present, who continue to inspire the Hot Club of Cowtown. Their 2016 album, Midnight on the Trail, is a collection of re-imagined cowboy ballads and traditional Western swing.
Advance tickets for these Filling Station and other shows are available in-store at Cactus Records and www.cactusrecords.net. For more information, visit www.chickenjamwest.com. •